I promised on my last post that there would be a lot of progress made on my nose job P51 and not being the kinda guy to intentionally break my promises, here it is: not just a lot of progress, I’ve finished it!

She’s a P51A early Allison engined example, in fact it’s decked out in the colours of the second one produced for evaluation by the Air Ministry, with the specially commissioned nose art “Slick Chick”. Of course, what you are seeing is a physically small, screen resolution version and not the full print resolution 65cm long version. You will get a fair impression of what the real artwork is like, but according to those discerning individuals who now own Dreambird prints, the real thing is so much more impressive!

Prints are limited to a run of only 20, making each print a rare collectors piece. Please note, the Dreambird logo and remaining text does not appear in the limited edition print.

So, if you fancy ordering a limited edition print of XP51 “Slick Chick” it will be available from next week at £45 per print.

Some of you might want to commission your very own P51A Dreambird and that’s absolutely fine. Don’t forget, it’s a relatively simple matter to convert the P51A to an A36 Apache/Intruder , and you would not be charged for the additional artwork, only for the individual nose art, camouflage and markings.

Close-up of "Slick Chick" nose art and exhaust stubs.

I’m feeling pretty smug about the Allison engine exhaust stubs on my P51A. Although I say so myself, they are looking mighty fine. As you might imagine, they took a ridiculous amount of time to achieve…

No camo yet, but the nose on the base aircraft is pretty much complete. Just the rest of the aircraft to render to the same quality!

I started the exhaust early this morning as I waited for my car to have its annual MOT test. I was ensconced in the ‘Customer Hospitality Area’, which turned out to be a rather wonky chair wedged up against the wall with a stack of ceiling tiles keeping it company and a nasty draught coming from the warped door. I’m not complaining, I like good old fashioned garages that smell of oil and other harmful substances. In these cold and draughty halls you’ll never get charged for the leather sofas, wilton carpets, branded clothing and insincere smiles. But I digress.

In  short the car failed and it took until 3:30 before I was free to tear up tarmac again. By this time, the exhaust (on the P51!) was still not finished, but my progress might have been hampered by a touch of frostbite and being overcome by exhaust fumes from the garage workshop. I also discovered a few additional rivets previous research had not revealed (or was it the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning?) and after adding those to my drawing and finishing the exhausts, the working day is almost done. If you consider my efforts in terms of volume of artwork, you might wonder at how some sad bugger like me can spend all day focussed on so little. But when our lives are often affected by budget cuts and poor quality service,  isn’t it nice to spend a long time on a small thing and do it well, for a change?

“Is that an Alison engined P51?” I was asked the other day as a client looked through my portfolio. “Yes,” I said rather hopefully. We were looking at one of my P51B paintings. I knew for sure that the P51D had the Merlin engine fitted, so it made sense that the B model had the Alison. How wrong could you be? Three days wrong… and counting, actually.

The client was keen to have an Alison engined P51 and to my recall, the only obvious difference between a B model and the earlier A (fitted with the Alison) was the big fin-like upper nose intake. “No problem,” I thought, “I can add an intake quickly enough to my B. And I was right, it wasn’t a problem… it just took three days (and counting…) to sort it out!

I could have just slipped an upper nose intake on my P51B but that would be like glueing antlers on a Shetland pony and calling him Rudolf. You see when you really compare a P51B to an Alison engined P51A,  the only parts of the fuselage that are unchanged seem to be the tailplane and the birdcage canopy! This was going to be far from a quick nose job, it was full-on whole body surgery.

Virtually all other parts of the fuselage on the A were re-designed in the P51B, in particular, the nose and the under-belly air scoop. If I’d have thought about it, you just can’t  swap engines on a sleek machine like a fighter without making some changes to the surrounding metalwork. Unsurprisingly, sourcing good rivet research photos for this area took more time than actually rendering them accurately on my illustration.

This is an earlier shot of work in-progress, before the rivets that fix the nose skins were placed accurately.

The radiator scoop, such an intrinsic feature of the D model, is dramatically narrower in the A and has a substantial affect on the overall profile of the airframe, making it look longer and more streamlined. Unlike on the D, the intake wraps around the belly more snugly and in fact is a much more pleasing shape when seen front-on. It smiles back at you. This radiator scoop also affects the shape of the wing root on the leading and trailing edges, while many other fuselage panels have slight differences in skin and access panels.

So… are all P51′s basically the same? I guess on the surface we  humans are all the same, but if you could place the great Mahatmar Ghandi next to Hulk Hogan you’d start to see the small differences.

Do you ever have one of those weeks when you seem to be rushing around trying to get too many things done and you just end up doing nothing well? That’s been my week so far. After finishing my Spitfire I wondered what to tackle next. Would it be the rather ugly but fascinating Fieser Storch I’ve been promising myself, or the cigar-like but gloriously colourful P-47? Perhaps I should start on the Me 109 that’s planned because I’ve got some very nice blueprints I’m dying to start work from? On the other hand, I did start that B17 a few months back as a break from fighter aircraft. I also had one or two commissioned pieces to complete…

Guess what? At some point over the last few days, I commenced and aborted all of these projects, apart from the commissioned work! I just couldn’t help myself. Once when I was but a sprog, I spent so long deciding which aircraft model kit to buy from the small yet tantalising selection  in our local Post Office, I had to make an empty-handed mad dash home before the contents of my bladder decided to add to the strange fusty smell that always purveyed the small shop. I guess despite the years, nothing really changes, except that perhaps I can’t run so fast. Here are some of my paltry efforts so far… If anyone has any preferences which aircraft they would like to see me render next, please let me know in the next day or so.

The slightly strange shape on the tail of my P-47 is the shadow from the rods that stick out from the tail and act as part of the pilots early warning of an unidentified aircraft on his tail. Amazing technology for 1944! I am really interested how in this case, the shadow better describes the apparatus than the rendering of the parts themselves!

Ok, the rubber tyre is a little too glossy, and I need to accentuate the highlight shape near the bottom of the tyre where it bulges slightly from the weight of the aircraft. But I'm pleased I got the brown/black colour of the ancient rubber right. Amazingly these tyre are marked 'Continental'. And I thought that was a new brand..!

Oh, I forgot to mention, I also rendered an FW 190 G5 in the colours of Willi Maximowitz too...

Thought I’d share the finished artwork of the P51 B Mustang. There’s an interesting story with this one: The Clients’ name is Chris Brown and he is a photographer by trade. He particularly wanted a P51 B and liked the idea of a recon squad and the parallels with his own trade as a photographer. We discussed various names and in the end “Box Brownie” was chosen – it’s a play on his name, but it’s also the name of a simple camera from the WW2 era.

Close-up of nose art.

Fully framed P51. What would you call YOURS?

My client ordered this for himself, but it would also make perfect gift for the man who has everything!

Today I’ve been working on another Mustang commission. My clients’ dream bird is a B-version in camoflage and markings of the 107th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron based at Earls Colne, near Colchester, UK in 1944. This is a special order in that the client has asked for a heavily distressed, battle weary finish. This takes quite a bit of work as most surfaces on B’s at this time were painted, so additional detailing is required to artwork any areas where rubbing, dings (battle damage!) or scratches would typically occur. Below is a close-up of the P51B “Birdcage” canopy I’m distressing at the moment. I’ve decided to draw the canopy with the sliding window open. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else illustrate it like this:

Distressed window frames with paint chips and wear marks

The overall tired, well-used look is more or less complete. I still need to tweak a few areas, particularly the wing tips, but it’s well on its way – maybe another day on it should see the job complete.

At first glance the P51B looks very much like the P51D, until you come to draw it. Almost every panel is different!

My clients’ choice of name and other individual details are not yet painted on the Mustang – I like to get permission from my clients before I post a shot of the finished art on the Dreambird site. So here she is, nearly finished. She’s patched, worn and grubby, but absolutely gorgeous. If she was yours, what would you call her?

The latest commissioned P51 Mustang “Daring Miss Dee”, named after my clients’ fiancé: He wanted a Mustang from the 99th Fighter squadron – the famed Tuskegee Airmen or ‘Red Tails’. I understand George Lucas is currently involved with a movie of the same title. Here is a detail of the finished art:

Red tailed Mustang "Daring Miss Dee"

I changed the background for this particular aircraft. The standard gun metal grey tended to drain some of the colours employed in this piece. I wanted something to enhance and work with the huge variety of colours in this particular painting. I also chose to use a faint suggestion of an airfield (its actually based on Duxford, where some of the scenes for “The Battle of Britain” were filmed.) It took a while resolve this – blues, reds, yellows are very challenging and demanding colours to work with, especially when the subtle colours used in the aliminuim panels can be so easily overpowered by them. The gentle coloured tones of the background help to soften and balance the use of colour throughout, I hope!

That was “Daring Miss Dee”. What would you call yours?

If I had a P51 Mustang, what would I call it? The ‘Dreambird’ artwork was my response to this particular fantasy. It has become the basis to the whole Dreambird concept: bespoke alterations and additions to my existing artwork, resulting in truly unique and individual art. What would you call yours?

Dreambird Mustang

This is a close-up of the finished Mustang illustration, painted in 374th Fighter Squadron markings. The sheet metal and paint textures/finishes are clearly seen in this image, as well as the different type of rivets/fixings used on this section of the Mustang. This version has the black and white invasion stripes employed by the Allies from around D-Day onwards. I’ve also added a small amount of paint chipping every now and again. Some customers have asked for a more battle-weary appearance to their own P51 and I’m pleased to be able to offer this service for any of my Dreambird aircraft creations.

Detail of rivets and fixings on my P51 illustration

The illustration is specially designed as a base aircraft (unpainted, like it came off the production line). On top of this I can ‘do the paint-job’ to YOUR specification. This includes invasion stripes, serial number, squadron codes, your name on the canopy), victory scores, Group colours and style of weathering (from brand spanking new to severely battle-worn) and of course, there is also your opportunity to name your P51 and have your own nose art designed and ‘painted’ on your aircraft! You can also have text to your specifications added to the artwork, if desired.

The individual nature of my creations ensure that you own a unique and personal piece of art, to your own specification! Prints can be commissioned up to 65cm long and make the perfect unusual gift for a man.

What would you call yours?

Order your own personal P51 Mustang from as little as £200.

Matt and Ben at Ninetyfive Creative wanted a P51 mocked up with their company logo and colours! The version you see here on my website has my DreamBird logo plastered over the tail in an attempt to prevent copyright theft!